Southend FC stadium plans delayed again

SOUTHEND United's ongoing saga to build a new stadium and retail park has hit yet another delay.

Earlier today, Southend Council's Development Control Committee met to discuss a renewed application from the Blues for the scheme.

The latest bid by club chairman Ron Martin hinged on how much money was going to be given to the council as a sweetner to spend on Southend's town centre - with £6million already proposed but this was downscaled to £2.25m in the new proposals.

The offer came in for criticism from councillors on the panel, who voted unanimously to defer the application until March to give council officers time to assess how much damage the retail park could cause to the town centre and whether £2.2m is enough to offset that damage.